The Seventh - PERMA HIATUS
by Mateko
Summary: A poor girl lost everything. Follow her journey from her eyes and the friends she did along the way. The darkness lurks everywhere waiting to reach her from behind. More summary info inside the prologue.
1. Disoriented

**This work contains mostly OC characters and wishes to expand the KFP universe. It contains violence, blood and some mid level bad language. This is side short story for Legend of the Otherworld. This piece will be around 10 pages. This work can be read anytime. You don't need to read my previous work, but if you wish to read and discover more I encourage you to go and read my main story.**

* * *

The Valley of Peace was just one of the several villages scattered all around China. Some of them were more known due to specific past events—like Gongmen City—or famous for the things they held within, like kung-fu palaces. Small villages shouldn't be ignored either because it's inside those places that suspicious things could happen. These people organize their activities together as a big family. They know each other perfectly, and it's impossible not to distinguish a new face when spotted. That's what was happening inside the Village of Xishui, a little place where people dedicated themselves to cultivating fruits and vegetables for personal use.

Two bunnies were collecting some mature apples from a tree. Dressed in a beige vest, a mother with white fur and blue eyes explained to her young daughter what she had to do in order to help her in the future.

"Dear, are you listening?" She asked, looking at the little, identically dressed white bunny climbing the tree to reach higher places.

"Yeah, yeah..." she replied, annoyed with hearing the same thing over and over again. "I got it. I'll twist the apple and then pull it down."

"Yes, but please be careful! You may fall down!" The hare's arms were stretching towards the bunny, already preparing to save her.

"Mom, calm down. I'm okay," she said, sitting down on the highest branch while uselessly trying to reassure her. "I can see most of our cultivated areas from the top of this tree! You should come here and look; it's such an amazing view!"

"It's dangerous to go that far! Please get down now..."

The white bunny ignored her mother and looked around enthusiastically at the view. She was able to spot every other villager working on the terrains growing carrots, radishes, and cabbages until something weird caught her attention. She immediately stood up.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Her mother instantly asked, seeing her daughter try to focus on something way too far in the fields. "Did you see something odd?"

"I-I can't tell..." she mumbled back, "I think there's someone coming this way."

The older bunny's eyes widened because the odd thing was at an abandoned zone that nobody had used for a long time. Plants weren't able to grow in that area so everyone let it be.

"Who is it? Should I call for help?"

"...It fell!" The bunny yelled, abruptly jumping down and walking towards the thing she saw.

"Wait! Don't go on your own like that!"

Though her mother wasn't able to fully understand what she was saying, she followed her nonetheless. The hare stopped when her daughter suddenly jumped between some ruined bushes.

"Niu, those have thorns so watch out! They may be poisonous."

Niu let her mother talk and heaved a weird thing out of it. "Mom, what animal is this? I've never seen this one before."

The rabbit ducked down and checked the strange looking thing. It was unconscious, face down on the ground so she wasn't able to identify which species it was.

"Wait, I'll turn it around," she stated, moving the creature to have a better look.

Niu stood there, glancing at her silent mother who seemed to have no clue whatsoever on the matter. "So…?"

The creature wore a weird grey jacket, long blue ripped pants, and around its body was a black thingy that resembled the creature's paws, but way bigger. There was a pink flower drawn on it. The animal had no fur on its face except for some yellow fur on its head. Its skin was clearly pink, but those odd clothes covered most of it; even its paws up to their pink tips were protected by a black fabric.

"I'm sorry dear. It must be a foreigner because I've never seen this kind of animal before," she responded, checking its condition.

The creature was still alive, but was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. Dark bags under shadowed its eyes, and their chest rose weakly despite its breathing so it seemed really weak. Their stomach moaned mournfully, the pain of emptiness causing it great distress.

"This is serious…" She breathed out with worry.

Her daughter instantly replied, taking action, "I'll call for help!"

"No! I don't know if we can wait that long. You have to help me carry it back to our home."

The creature is practically two times taller than the bunnies and Niu hesitated, thinking that she wasn't strong enough to it. Curious, her mother picked it up to understand if it was possible to lift the body on her own.

"Niu, it's okay. We can do it together. The creature is lighter than it seems due to malnutrition," she confirmed, guiding her to take its legs.

"O-Okay, I'll do it," the bunny nodded, helping her mother out.

* * *

"Where am I?" The creature whispered with a feminine voice. She was so weak that her eyes wouldn't open to focus on the voices of the people around her.

"Drink," a voice she had never heard before urged, but she couldn't even reach the pot filled with water until the animal itself realized help was needed and placed the small container next to her lips.

The stranger moved the empty pot away and, after a few seconds, returned with another one. She passively accepted it, knowing that whoever was helping had given her water. As soon as the substance touched her tongue she recognized mixed flavors smashed together into a pulp like apples, carrots and other vegetables. Those actions tired her out completely, and with her body finally receiving nutrients to survive, she lost consciousness once more.

* * *

A cold breeze sneaked inside the little room from a window left open. It caressed the creature's body several times, freezing her. She instantly reacted by hugging herself tightly, trying to warm up. It wasn't enough.

She stood up, half asleep, and headed towards the source of the terrible cold. The creature closed the window and yawned. It took her a moment to remember and understand.

Her senses turned fully operative as she peeked outside, looking for an exit.

It was a small house, something not normal for her. She barely fit inside and her head almost hit the ceiling. The creature just wanted to leave, but something she really needed was now missing. While unconscious, someone took her gray jacket which left her wearing only that thin green shirt. She was freezing, plus she hated the cold.

The girl started to wander around the place, noticing there were three rooms: the first one was the bedroom where she woke up; then a small kitchen with a stove, a table and some dirty dishes signaling that someone just ate; and a closed door. Trying to open it revealed it was locked from the inside.

She was alone. Some people fixed her up and then left her inside their house, but with that locked door maybe someone was still there.

"I'm sorry, is someone in there?" She inquired, knocking on the door.

No one replied to her question, but some mixed sounds reached her ears. They were really low as if they were trying to hide or to be as silent as possible.

"Please don't be afraid. I don't want to hurt you…" She reassured, walking away from the door, hoping to earn some sort of trust.

The footsteps became easier to hear, but still no answer came. They may have stopped right in front of the door, yet the creature was able to clearly sense a presence.

"If you're scared of me I understand, no matter how weird that sounds, but I'll leave, I swear. I just need the jacket you took away from me. I can't leave without it…" She explained, willing to respect their desire to stay hidden.

The door slowly opened, showing her jacket wrapped around…something. It wasn't visible, but whoever that was, her clothes were too big for it. Was it a child? She admitted that leaving a kid alone with a complete stranger would have scared her too.

"I'm sorry," the kid apologized, removing the jacket. "I was in your room, taking care of you as always, when I saw you sweating. I removed it and, suddenly, my mind suggested that I should have tried it on."

The creature's eyes widened when her jacket showed…a little bunny. They were wearing her own clothes, talking, and moving…just like her.

"Then I freaked out because, in that very moment, you started to wake up and I didn't know what to do." The bunny blushed, playing with her paws. "I panicked for no reason…"

The girl started to think that she was still hallucinating and forced herself to believe that she was just a cute child and not a bunny; that she had just woke up and these visions would soon vanish for good.

"You okay? You look like you've seen a monster!" The bunny smiled, handing over her coat.

The creature shook that question off with an awkward laugh, "What? No, I'm fine!" Her body felt less cold with the jacket on, bringing back some lucidity into her mind.

The big girl was now the scared one. The illusion wasn't going away and the thought that the bunny may be real brought terrible ideas, like some sort of weird virus or mutation that they may turn her into one of them! She wanted to run and leave as fast as possible.

"I'll tell the others that you're okay," the smaller being said, heading towards the exit.

Her fears became reality when the small kid went to look for the others. The creature wanted to grab her, but another problem stepped in the way.

"ACHOO!" She yelled, covering her nose.

When the bunny opened the door she was just as surprised as the girl, seeing her mother back with a few pigs and a sheep. The creature fell on the ground and crouched backwards, feeling like a cornered prey scared to die.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" She screamed, emptying her lungs of air as animals walked inside and surrounded her.

* * *

The creature sipped hot tea, sitting on a chair with unknown animals. She took a deep breath to accept the situation she was in while maintaining composure.

"Okay, let me get this straight: we're in a small village in China, you've never seen someone like me, and everyone is like you."

"We told you everything, dear. Could you please reply to our answers?" Niu's mother kindly asked, sensing her desperate attempt to not go insane.

"My name's Claire, I'm a girl from another country. I-I don't even know how I ended up in China, and this doesn't make any sense. How do you not know about humans? And why I have I never heard of talking animals living here? This isn't working; there's something I'm missing and the more I think about it the more my head hurts."

"A human, huh?" Niu asked, touching her skin. "You're tall and skinny. You resemble a lioness with that blonde fur on your head."

Claire freaked out when she touched her and instantly moved her arm away, then covered her nose. "NO! DON'T TOUCH ME PLEASE!"

"What's wrong? I wasn't going to hurt you…"

"That's not it. I'm allergic to bunnies' hair," she admitted embarrassed.

"..." Both the family of bunnies and the townsfolk exchanged confused glances with one another as they have never heard of that word before.

"Allergic?" Niu repeated.

She figured that it was totally plausible that they didn't know what it was since they told her they've never seen a human before. It wouldn't be possible to develop allergies towards themselves.

"An allergy makes you red and your body itchy. You can have some trouble when it comes to breathing and can't stop sneezing, just like I did before."

"Oh, I see. That has never happened to us," the older bunny replied, followed by the others' nods.

"I'm in a terrible situation right now. Everyone has fur and I don't know how much my body can hold it before going crazy."

The little bunny stared at her with a smirk and, as soon as the human noticed her, jumped on Claire, cuddling her with that small squishy head of hers.

"W-What are you doing? Please stop! You don't know how dangerous it is for me and I have nothing to take care of it," she mumbled, scared.

The human froze, wanting to push her away, but she was just a child. She didn't know what to do, and sooner or later the reaction was going to come anyway.

"You sure this…allergic thingy is even real? Were you lying?" Niu asked, raising her head from Claire's jacket.

"Of course it is!" She replied back, but truth was nothing happened. "I sneezed before! It was because of you being around!"

"You were just freezing because I had your jacket…" Niu said, rolling her eyes.

"No, it's impossible. I always had it; it can't just disappear like that!" Claire denied, picking up the bunny, "I need to check this out."

The human started to rub Niu on every part of her body, trying to provoke a reaction on purpose.

"Wasn't it…dangerous for you?"

"Everything is unbelievable to me. I can only think you're different from the animals I usually see, but…"

"What are you going to do now?" The kind mother asked, cleaning the table of empty cups. "Where were you going when we found you?"

"First I'd like to return the favor. You actually saved my life back there and I must do something."

"Dear, that's very sweet of you, but there's nothing for you here. We're just a village of farmers. We work, we trade, we live together. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Then give me some chores of yours. I can help you out for a while, at least until I figure out what should I do."

"What do you mean? Were you lost with no directions on where to go?"

"I don't remember." stated Claire sadly with a nodd of agreement. "I just woke up all alone in a forest. I screamed and called for help, but nobody came. I started to walk on my own, looking for people, anyone. I wandered for days…no water, no food. I thought I was done for…"

"I'm really sorry for what you've gone through…"

"I think we could use two more paws," the pig smiled. "Unfortunately, we can't really help you. We only trade with villages nearby. Maybe you could go and ask there."

"You can stay as long as you want," the sheep continued. "Even if we helped you, it won't be for free. You'll need food and water if you have to travel through China."

"No, you don't have to…" The human tried to oppose.

"We just wish for you to be safe and sound. Whatever you do here, take it as your repayment for us," Mother bunny added, placing her paw on the girl's back.

Claire turned around and hugged her, a bit surprised at how much that reminded her of hugging a dog. "Thank you." Then she let her go out of embarrassment for the act.

* * *

A part of her still believed they weren't telling the truth or, at least, half truth, but when they showed her their little village and she saw only bunnies, sheeps and pigs, that small fragment of hope poofed away. It was hard. She accepted to stay not only to repay them, but also to get used to it. She wanted to be able to act normal in front of every weird animal Claire would eventually meet. That was her main reason.

"Everything looks so…old," the girl said, looking at the houses, technology and at their cultivations.

"Old?" The pig remarked, "These places are still young. The generation that built this village is only three hundred years old and we're working hard to keep everything clean and perfectly functional."

"I see." The human couldn't explain the real meaning behind that sentence, taking back her earlier statement and not talking further on the matter.

Niu climbed on Claire, sat on her shoulder and whispered, "You should know that, even if this village is not the most popular, we often receive some visitors and not all of them are like you."

"Your mother is a great person then if she still accepted to heal me knowing there was the possibility of-"

"My mom will never ever leave someone behind, even if that means helping a criminal."

"That is actually dangerous…"

"I know. I just wish to help her somehow, but I'll be stuck in here forever cultivating vegetables and gathering fruits."

"Why didn't they tell me about it? I actually know some self-defence techniques."

"They thought you weren't up to it. As soon as they understood you were a girl…"

"Ugh…they think girls can't fight, right?"

"..."

While they were chatting the pig kept talking, but she wasn't listening to him anymore. She was taken aback when he suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. A huge gathering of people were surrounding something, creating a circle.

"Hey, what's going on here?!" The pig shouted, luring everyone's attention.

Niu's ears instantly twitched as she sensed danger. "Grandpa, we have to leave!"

Claire wasn't really able to follow the situation, but the bunny seemed extremely worried and stressed about those animals. They weren't bunnies, sheep, nor bunnies, just some ox-looking people wearing random pieces of armor and weak weapons. When the circle opened a bigger one appeared holding up a scared pig.

"State your business here," the old sheep commanded, showing no fear.

"Your kid right here didn't give me any food and disrespected me and my army." The ox threw the pig towards them and Claire stepped into their path, protecting the old pig and catching the younger one. "We work for you. We make sure you're safe. The least you can do is to give us everything we demand."

"I told him that we had enough food only for me and my wife, then he started to destroy my house…" He weakly murmured in her arms.

"You guys always talk about how precious your citizens are to you, but why didn't they come to help him? We just needed some supplies."

"If you were going to ask for it with some proper manners, I'm he would have helped you anyway. You're just an arrogant general who thinks everything is yours," Claire sassed, her eyebrows furrowed.

"You talk big for an old piece of junk, but I'm sorry your words won't hurt me. My wife talks like that all the time; I'm used to it!" His army started to laugh out loud as if he said the funniest thing in the world.

"Claire what are you—!" Niu said when the human lowered her down and walked towards him.

"Leave before I punish you," the girl threatened.

"You? Punish me?" He laughed, "I've never seen an animal like you, but from your voice I'm guessing you're a girl. Why don't you leave? Be a good kid and go clean something. That's what you do, right?"

Claire grinned, satisfied to hear that phrase. "You're filled with pride. I'll enjoy your reaction when a girl that cleans takes you out with the trash."

"I usually don't touch girls, but if you insist to fight I won't stop you," he leered while the human was wearing some big black gloves. "Why don't we make things more interesting? If you win we'll leave and you'll never see me again, but if I win this village will be ours and you will be forced to-!"

Claire had enough of his speech and, as soon as she donned her gloves, landed harsh blows to weak spots upon his body. Her movement were precise, fast and strong.

"I hope I didn't destroy all of your pride yet…" She commented, raising her fists for round two.

"GENERAL!" His troops shouted, ready to jump on her.

"NO!" He shouted, sweeping his arm out to stop them, "You little bastard…" The ox breathed out, touching his wounded abdomen. "I admit I underestimated you. Can you believe it? A girl can be that strong. There are, like, three or four women in all China with this level of ability."

The ox charged at her and aimed for Claire's head. She didn't move until the last second when everyone believed she was gonna get hit, ducking down again and aiming for the same spots. Her fists were danced to the same beat as if she were using a very specific style of combat; something nobody ever seen before. The last punch forced him away.

The general staggered back, but didn't fall. A puddle of blood splattered on the ground.

"WHAT'S WITH THAT WEIRD FIGHTING STYLE OF YOURS?! IS THAT KUNG-FU? DID THE PANDA TEACH YOU?" He shouted out in rage and tried again.

The human swiftly moved away, raising her fist high and hitting him under the snout, making him fly a bit before finally landing on the ground, unconscious.

"This is not kung-fu," she explained to him while directing it to everyone else. "This is the discipline I've been practicing since I was born, kickboxing."

Utter silence fell on the area. Something impossible had been achieved. Niu's eyes sparkled with interest and admiration for what Claire just did. One of the soldier that stood further went for the human wielding an axe, wanting to avenge his fallen general.

She simply grabbed the axe, twisted it away from his paws and caught his left side of the torso with a kick. The animal stumbled back, stunned. She raised her leg again and kicked him away. He landed right on top of the general.

"I won. Two times now. Please leave", she commanded, removing her gloves to check her hands. "Should I fight you all? I don't think it's a good idea."

"She'll pay for this. We'll come back. The general will destroy this village." The soldiers murmured to each other while collecting the defeated oxs and leaving the place.

"Woah…" Niu gaped, shocked, "THAT WAS AMAZING!"

The old bunny ran towards her, grabbing her hands. "Dear, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"I-I'm fine, really. That hotshot was all talk; he didn't touch me once!" Claire commented, giggling.

"You saved this poor pig," the older pig began while the sheep brought the wounded villager away. "Your debt is now paid, I'll be sure to prepare everything you need for the journey."

"No!" Claire and Niu shouted in unison, then stared at each other with a confused glance since they knew their reason to say so.

"I'd like to stay here for a few days. I still want help you out," the human explained, moving towards the old guy. "It's not okay to leave now when those soldiers said they'll return."

"If you wish to stay, we won't oppose it dear, but allow us to prepare a little feast to thank you for your actions," the old bunny resolved, smiling.


	2. Trapped

**This work has been recently updated with a better version thanks to my beta. Reminder to check my work on DeviantArt (Matekok), Tumblr (Mateiko) and (Mateko) where you can have better updates on what I'm doing and where I'm working.**

* * *

A week passed by and, as Claire learned how to deal with the weird creatures, life quickly became repetitive and boring. Everyday, a cycle starting from dawn and ending with the sunset. She hadn't expected that being a farmer would lead to such an empty, exhausting life. There were a lot of responsibilities: taking care of the ground quality and checking the water, check the plants and cleaning them while making sure to move the fruits and vegetables around. Visitors were like a drop of water in a dry mouth. No wonder they really liked to chat and help out whoever walked through their village, bad or good, it didn't matter. They strived for something to break out of their awful routine.

She successfully achieved one of her objectives, yet a problem forced her to stay; a problem that Claire herself caused involving the oh-so-famous emperor army she kicked out some time ago. They didn't come back. She didn't know if they actually wanted to get revenge or if it was something said in the heat of the moment to scare them. Somehow it worked. The human was afraid to leave the village unprotected even if the villagers repeated many times that they would be fine and whatever they did couldn't hurt them too much.

When she finished her daily work, Claire trained to keep her body in the best form. She built a primitive training dummy since punching the air didn't really help her as much as hitting something concrete.

Deep breaths followed the sweat that streamed down her face as she landed countless hits on the dummy. Those attacks were as perfect as the ones she used against the ox. The perfect synchronization and agility they required made the training harder.

"Who's there?" Claire asked, wiping the sweat off of her forehead while letting out a sigh of satisfaction. "I know you've been staring at me the entire time. Just show yourself."

The person who was staring at her didn't reply, but slowly moved towards her from behind.

"Niu?" The human said, surprised, "Are you the one who's been watching over me this entire week?"

"You noticed?" She instantly inquired, led by the pride she nurtured for her stealth skills.

"Practicing a combat style makes you more sensitive to what's around you. I sensed someone spying on me. I didn't sense any harmful intent so I let it be, but I guess I was curious about their identity…"

"Oh… I honestly thought today I made some sort of mistake for you to have spotted me."

"You were too close. Next time place yourself in a better place."

"That's good advice," the bunny thanked, smiling. "It will be really useful…" A cute smirk appeared on her face.

"So? What do you want?" Claire asked, ducking down.

"Teach me."

"Huh?"

"Please take me on as a student. I wanna learn how to fight."

The human kinda figured it out, thinking back to what she said before showing off her skills, but didn't take Niu seriously.

"No way."

"Come on! I'm a fast learner. Show me something!"

"I'll be leaving soon. I don't have time to take care of some cocky kid who wants to punch people in the face."

"I'm not a kid! I'm sixteen years old. I'm a teenager!" Niu replied, prideful.

"Is that true? You're so small…"

Claire didn't know if she was lying, but it didn't sound like one. She could have just picked an older age to persuade her, plus her mother, even she looked old, didn't grow that much. That must have been the average bunny height.

"I'M NOT SMALL! I'M ACTUALLY TALLER THAN AVERAGE!"

Niu, cheeks flushed red with irritation, hated her size, and being called out by someone so tall angered her greatly.

"Look, the situation won't change. I have to leave soon. Showing something random to you won't help. You'd need at least one month to achieve a somewhat decent style."

Niu's world crumbled in those few seconds. Her ears lowered, eyes watering and her muzzle damp. She hoped Claire could have changed her unfair life; her so hated destiny chosen by her mother.

"You don't understand. I have to learn, I have to know how to fight. That's the only way I can change her mind!"

"Please don't cry. I'm sure you can solve everything. You just need to find a more specific way to solve whatever the problem is."

"I'm just a girl. I can't decide what I wanna do! They all grew up with this mentality. I will be the one who cleans the house, cooks, gathers the vegetables and takes care of the kids in the future! I don't want that life. I'll never accept it!"

Claire felt extremely uncomfortable hearing all of that. Nothing changed. Everywhere she went ignorant people shared that mindset. Was it so hard to see everyone as equals no matter what? It brought her back to the school days where humans of her own age behaved as if they were better. Superior even. They judged you and compared their life and achievements with yours. It didn't matter how much time we survived on the planet and how much we developed. We didn't change at all.

"I know it's hard to stand out, but I'm sure you can do it. You have to understand. I'm stuck on the other side of the planet and I don't even know how it happened. I just want to go back. I must leave as soon as possible."

The bunny ran to Claire and hugged her. The human raised her from the ground and embraced her harder. The white furred animal started to cry louder, letting out everything she bottled up for years due to her obedient behavior towards her beloved mother. Her freedom was everything she asked for. It was something she should have had from the start.

"Niu! Where are you? We need to take care of the plants!" Her old mother called out, slowly walking down the street towards them.

"I can't…" She murmured, raising her head from the human's torso, "I'm sick of it, plus I can't let her see me like this."

Claire moved her arms away so the bunny jump out of the embrace. "Just go. I'll take care of the plants for you, okay?"

Niu wiped her tears away. A smile slowly decorated her face, "Thanks, I'm glad I met you."

The girl turned around, tracking the bunny who was running away on all fours. The sentence sounded weird and unusual. She wasn't gonna leave that soon. They were going to see each other again and have a happier farewell, until a thought struck her.

"Claire!" The older bunny yelled, forcing the human to focus on her. "Have you seen my daughter? She usually doesn't go around without warning me before…"

"Sorry, I didn't see her since this morning. If you want I'll go look for her," the girl lied, not willing to place more burdens upon the elder's shoulders.

"Yes please. I'm really worried," the mother replied, placing her paws together as if she were praying.

"Don't worry. I'll send her back home as soon as I find her." Claire waved her hand in the air as a sign of farewell, moving towards the direction Niu went.

"Wait! There's another thing I'd like to ask you about." The rabbit responded, raising her paw and volume to lure the human's attention.

"Yes?" Claire froze, thinking that she may have noticed her true intentions.

"I've seen that you and Niu already have a deep bond. Would you like to talk to her?" The bunny's face slowly saddened, recalling every moment where her daughter had acted cold and distant.

The human's eyes widened realizing that Niu didn't even try to talk with her first.

"I don't know what's wrong, but I can feel it. My daughter is tormented by something and she's acting like everything's alright."

"You should tell her then…"

"I tried. She simply pushed me away. 'It's fine, I'm okay. Can you stop being so oppressive?' Those are the things she always replied with…"

"I don't want to be your tool to discover the truth because it wouldn't be fair. She has to say it. The only thing I can do is to encourage her to open up to you."

"I'm sorry I dragged you into such a personal matter. That will do, thank you."

* * *

 _I'm glad I met you._

That phrase echoed inside Claire's head every time she called her name. The human wanted to ask to the nearby villagers on the road, yet it was unusually empty. The afternoon is the busiest time of the day there. She knocked on the doors. Nobody replied. It was weird and suspicious, but Claire was too concerned about Niu to even think about it. Did she really leave the village? The thought bounced back and forth inside her mind. She felt responsible; denying the bunny's request had brought them to this ending.

"NIU! ANSWER ME!" She screamed as loud as possible, so much that she was tired from all the wasted air Claire used to call the bunny back instead of running all around the city.

"Oh god…" She exhaled out of fear when a small rock landed right next to her. It had been thrown from a high place, judging from how high it bounced, therefore she looked up towards the houses' roofs and caught a glimpse of a small, round, fluffy, white tail.

The human sighed with relief, at least she didn't run away as suspected before. She jumped on the barrels next to the wall and climbed up to Niu. Even when upset, the bunny chose the biggest house. Grandpa Sheep lived in this one with his family. From the roof, almost the entire village was visible and, with minimal effort, even the areas where farmers work outside the city.

Niu was sitting on the edge, legs swinging, her paws laying on her chest as she looked out towards the landscape with an expression full of sadness and doubt. Next to her, to Claire's surprise, another animal stood still, holding a scroll and what looked like a pen, but shaped as a feather.

Of course, Claire had never seen said creature before; it was probably of another species. It looked like some sort of feline with grey fur. Most likely a specific version of a leopard with those black spots scattered around her face. Her clothes were completely blue with multicoloured highlights ranging from light to dark blue. Even the bandana and necklace she was wearing were the same colour. The only thing ruining her entire setup was the brown backpack placed upon her back.

"I seriously thought you were planning to leave…" Claire said, sitting next to her. "You had me worried for a moment there."

"Just like my mother…" The bunny sighed, placing her right paw under her head as support.

"This place is interesting. I don't know why it isn't marked on my map…" The stranger thought out loud, circling the area they were supposed to be in.

"You're not wrong though. That was my idea…" Niu explained, glancing from the background to the animal next to her. "I wasn't able to stop myself from crying while running away, and then I met her," the bunny stated, pointing towards the busy animal who didn't even look at her.

"You…stopped her?"

The snow leopard finally glanced away from the paper she was so focused on, ears straightening when her eyes met Claire's.

"What are you? I've never seen such an odd species before!" She excitedly commented, pulling out a blank piece of paper. "Can I draw you?"

"Draw me?" The human remarked with confusion. "Maybe later…"

"Getting back to your question, I was walking through the village, heading north when Niu bumped into me. If it wasn't for her I would consider the place abandoned…" The leopard reminisced, reminding the human that she didn't find anyone either on her way there.

"You're right! Niu did you find someone while running away?" The girl asked, turning back to the little bunny.

"As I said before, everyone was heading towards the southern entrance. Maybe a cultivation went bad or something. It happens, you know that," Niu explained, even if she didn't really care about it.

"Oh, I forgot! I'm Claire, nice to meet you," the human smiled, lending her hand to her as a sign of greeting.

The animal's eyes widened as she heard her name. "I'm Lan, the pleasure is mine," the snow leopard greeted, looking at Claire's hand still hanging there for a reason she didn't know.

"Do you need something?"

The girl blushed, taking it back. "It's how I greet people. Don't you do it too?"

"I guess I can understand. After all you are of a different culture." Lan surmised, bringing her paws together and bowing. "This is how we usually greet people. Be sure to remember that."

"Was it that obvious?" Claire replied even if she knew the answer.

"Your name, your manners, your unusual species, even your clothes. You're like a bright light in the darkness; everyone can easily notice you from miles away," the snow leopard stated, smirking.

"I said the very same things, but you think she listened? Of course not," Niu muttered, standing up.

"Of course I don't. It's impossible you have never met another human! What do you think I am, a monster?" Claire replied, upset.

"You're a human?" Lan questioned again.

Her different reaction lighted up some hopes into the girl that instantly nodded. "Yes! I am!"

The snow leopard placed her paw under her snout. "Where have I heard that word before? I think my teacher said something about it in the past," she explained, ducking down for the purpose of squeezing more information out of her head.

"Where is she now? I have so many questions. Please help me…"

"Uh…I can't really bring you to her right now. We had a quarrel, sort of."

"Listen, I know we just met, but nobody can help me out in this village and I have to leave. You look like a traveler with that backpack of yours. Where are you going? Whatever the destination may be I'm on board."

"I-I don't know! That's so sudden, I need to think about it," the leopard mumbled.

While Claire tried to persuade the feline to let her follow, a suspicious smell reached Niu's nose. Her nose twitched several times as she leaned towards it, attempting to recognize the scent.

"Something's burning…" The bunny warned, moving towards the direction it was coming from.

Lan pushed the girl away and grabbed Niu. "I think it just started. If we hurry we can block it before it gets worse. You know the fastest way to get there, right? Let's go."

The snow leopard jumped down from the roof and landed on the ground with perfect grace and ability, surprising the human. "Aren't you coming?" She asked, looking at Claire still standing there.

The human wasn't like them. Even if it wasn't a deadly jump it would have broken a few bones. "You sure it's necessary? I mean, it's an entire village. By the time we get there the fire will probably be put out," she mumbled, climbing safely down.

As soon as Claire reached them, Lan started to run towards the supposed fire. "You couldn't jump down, am I right? You also can't sense the smell, am I right?" she asked, while Niu navigated them through which roads to take.

"Yes, it's not something I can do easily, but what about my heightened sense of smell? How did you know that?"

"Think about it. Every species have powerful noses, or at least the majority of us do. If we sense the smell that means nobody noticed and that's impossible. This bunny right here also got it."

"If that's true, something must have happened!"

"Exactly," Niu cut in. "The worst is that the scent is coming from the south where I saw everyone heading to, but at that time there wasn't any fire."

The bunny and the human looked at each other realizing the missing piece behind their reasoning. "They're back. We have to hurry."

* * *

Everything followed an important and precise order. Even Claire noticed it, but she was literally the only one who had the freedom to do whatever she wanted; the very same privilege the little bunny strived so much to obtain. Therefore, Niu knew far too well that it was impossible to set something on fire, moreover if she's talking about her village.

"MOM!" The worried daughter cried out as soon as her eyes met the terrifying truth she would have never imagined.

"Sshhh! They'll spot us if you call her like that!" Claire scolded, placing her hand in front of her snout.

Lan looked speechless at the horror of the scene. An entire army made of oxs were threatening an old woman, pointing a sharp knife at her neck while holding down every other villager, yet this wasn't the worst of it. They were forcing them to watch their hard work fade away in flames.

"I have to do something! I can't stand here and-" Niu couldn't even finish what she was saying, already heading towards the scene. Words were just a way to waste time and she wanted to get there as soon as possible, but Claire held her back.

"I know how you feel, but you can't run straight into their faces!" The human started, "What will you do then? They're holding her hostage! You'll just decrease any possible chance we have to save both the villagers and the village."

The snow leopard looked down at her paws. They trembled for a while, until she clenched her fists together, symbolizing strength. "I'll take care of putting out every fire. You two can deal with the oxs."

"Every fire?!" Claire remarked, shocked, "You really mean it? That's impossible! I was thinking about which huts we were going to sacrifice. I'd like to be sure to save what matters most."

"Do your job to save the villagers and I'll do mine," Lan repeated before quickly running away from them. To get as close as possible to the source without getting spotted, the traveller hid among the alleys.

"Okay, I really don't know if she will actually do it or if it was just a lie, but right now the priority is to save everyone…" the human stated, looking around.

The majority of the army was missing, probably heading all around the city to burn everything down. Even Claire was able to smell that terrible smell. There were more or less ten soldiers, excluding the general who currently pointed the sharp weapon at the old bunny's neck. It was impossible to get that closer to him and free the lady without getting spotted. A distraction was needed in order to sneak in and punish the ox.

"I want to go! Let me go! I can't stay here and just spectate; not this time!" Niu struggled, trying to ease Claire's grasp on her ears. "I probably won't do much, but it doesn't matter..!"

"You can go. I've got an idea," the girl hummed, letting her run towards her mother.

Claire followed the bunny within the shadows as she moved forward. She imagined the warriors left behind weren't just for show. The general holding the hostage was enough for them to surrender. They were probably waiting for her; some sort of ambush. Her theories were soon proved when, just as she predicted, the warriors instantly caught Niu and brought her to the ox.

"Let my mother go!" She yelled, struggling to get out of their grasp.

The army laughed while dragging the poor bunny along. The general moved closer.

"Oh…don't worry cute one. I won't hurt your beloved mother. Your fellow citizens must obey me and everything will be fine, but…you see nobody wants to respect my authority," he explained, toying with a knife. The sharp edge of it was a hair's width away from from cutting her throat open. "I want that girl who humiliated my army. Give her to me and we'll leave forever."

"Didn't you listen to what I said before?" The old bunny weakly breathed out, "Claire already left the village. We don't know where she is…"

"BULLSHIT! I KNOW SHE'S HERE SOMEWHERE!" The ox cried out, holding her tighter to cause more pain. "I'm sick of being nice with you all! Someone needs to die. Maybe then someone will tell me where she is!"

The flames wrapped around the village, flaring up in a tornado of red and orange as if responding to the commanding ox's rage.

"NO! DON'T HURT HER!" The bunny shouted, slipping out of the warriors' hands like wet soap, but something heavy and strong forced her down.

Blood coated the ground as the bunny fell, releasing the essence of life from her mouth every time she coughed.

"You're lucky I only used my knife handle, otherwise you'd be dead already, little one," the ox smirked, enjoying her suffering. "I guess I actually liked what you did there. Those guts, that will… If you were a boy you could have remembered me when I was your age."

Niu had serious difficulty breathing. The blow she received was extremely strong for someone so fragile and the blood kept pooling from her mouth, denying her every chance to catch air.

"Don't….you dare….compare me to someone….as disgusting as you…" She panted, feeling the strain when pushing out said phrase. Coughing and heavily breathing every second without support made it worse.

"I was planning to just murder your mother, and guess what I accidentally killed someone else. Might as well send you after your daughter; she may feel alone," he taunted, finding pleasure in brushing his weapon against the bunny's fur.

The human ground her teeth in rage. It was the only method to keep herself busy since she couldn't jump right on him. She had to take advantage of the whole scene to move around stealthily. Claire reached the perfect position behind the closest tree in the general's blind spot; directly behind him. The only ones who spotted her were the villagers. They didn't need any words to understand what was going to happen and what they should do next. Among the crowd, Grandpa Pig and the old sheep nodded to her, allowing her to proceed.

She placed her beloved gloves on, running directly towards them and kicking the ox's left side which was completely left open. The damage plus the ambush surprised him to the point where Claire straight up snatched his weapon away, setting the hostage free.

"Who do you think you are to abuse people and treat them like toys…" She reprimanded, throwing the knife away. "I swear on my own life you'll regret everything. You'll regret being born!" With a strong fist, the human punched him in the stomach so hard that he had to stoop down while moaning in pain at how strong it was. She kicked him onto the ground and sat on him to start to punching him to death on his snout.

The old bunny fell to the ground when Claire set her free, taking deep breaths, as she gathered her energy. Finally, she crawled to reach her daughter. "Niu! Niu! Everything's gonna be okay. Look at me! Niu!"

Niu slowly glanced towards her, smiling softly. "Mom…"

Tears streamed down fluffy cheeks as her arms embraced the paralyzed bunny, cuddling Niu's head with hers. The villagers, upon reaching the two, quickly picked them up and ran inside.

Claire grew angrier and angrier with each punch landed. The malicious, yet satisfied expression upon his face seemed to sneer back at her. "You're late to the party! I set the entire village on fire and almost killed an innocent child!"

By now, the flames embraced the entire village, burning everything down. She raised her head up and realized that Lan hadn't done anything to stop the fire. "You piece of shit…"

Claire sensed people creeping towards them from behind. As a result, she rolled away from the ox, standing a couple of meters away.

"Don't be mean. Remember that you're a girl, behave like one," the general joked, standing up. His army surrounded her as he wiped off the blood that trailed down his mouth. "You'll be the one that will regret the day you stood in my way!"

Claire wasn't scared to face eleven people at once since she was ready to put everything into this fight. The general had to beg for forgiveness otherwise she would surely kill him. The human raised her fists, entering a defensive pose. Her instincts told her to be careful. Her body was indeed weaker than theirs and any hit from them could cause serious problems.

"Bow to me! Beg me to spare your life!" He ordered, abusing his numerical advantage.

"I'd rather die than submit myself to someone as disgusting as you…" The human countered, tightening her position.

The flames rose higher and higher. The village seemed impossible to save! She hoped the citizens were at least able to save the most important stuff.

"General!" A massive troop shouted, luring everyone's attention, "We did as you commanded. The entire city is burning!"

The ox evilly smiled as he turned towards his soldiers. "Now the last thing before we leave this soon to be ruins—" he pointed at the human, "—let's punish this girl for what she did to us."

Claire slightly inched back, surprised. She didn't remember the army being this big!? The ox brought backup knowing that she could take down a good amount of people, but now it wasn't possible.

"Someone's frightened," he hummed. "I can't hold myself back any longer. It's time for you to pay."

Suddenly, a cold wind blew on their surroundings. The temperature quickly shifted from a normal spring day to a frozen winter day. The army and the general instinctively hugged their bodies, struggling to warm themselves. Claire, on the other hand, felt perfectly fine as if the wind had some sort of intelligence and avoided her on purpose.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?!" yelled the general, taken aback by the sudden climate change. Gusts of cold wind adding to the still decreasing temperature danced so violently that even the fire engulfing the city was gradually put out.

The human blinked, just as surprised as they were, but not enough to lose her grudge against them. She narrowed her eyes, cocked her fist and violently punched him in the face.

"DAMN YOU…" He painfully screamed while staggering backwards, desperately trying to fix himself. Her attack fused with his weakened body hurt even more! "You're not affected by it…"

The circle of enemies surrounding Claire quickly broke to gather next to their general. Soldiers' voices echoed in the crowd, "She must be a chi master! Our leader messed with the wrong person. This isn't worth the effort anymore!"

The girl didn't understand anything they were saying, and as a result, she stared back, just as confused as they were. The ox also noticed and tried to boost their moral to get them to fight her again.

"She isn't a chi master! Look at her! She clearly doesn't know what's going on either!" He explained, pointing at her.

"Of course she is," Lan's argued from afar. The soldiers moved aside to let her come closer and join them. "Didn't you notice what she did?"

"The city! Look at the city! Everything's fine just like it was before!" One of the oxs yelled.

The army resumed panicking amongst themselves as their fear increased. The general uselessly tried to control them and unite them once more, but this time it wasn't working.

"Lan what's going-" Claire was instantly hushed by the leopard. "Just follow me."

"This woman is such a generous and benevolent person!" Lan yelled, instantly capturing everyone's focus. "She's still willing to let you all survive! Just leave this place, kick out this terrible man, and find someone better; someone that actually fights for the people and not for his own personal gain." A cruel smirk formed upon her face. "Otherwise…you'll be turned into ice statues AND SMASHED INTO TINY PIECES!"

In that moment, the wind expanded and grew stronger. The cold rose even more, but nobody got hurt in the process this time. It seemed just for show.

One of the soldiers ran towards the human and begged for his life, "Please forgive me master! We'll do whatever you want! I'm sorry!"

Claire raised an eyebrow, extremely irritated. "Get out of my sight before I change my mind."

The ox fled towards the forest, disappearing among the plants shortly after. Everyone stared at her, speechless. "What are you looking at? GO AWAY!"

The entire troop unfroze and soon followed their companion through the trees, leaving the general behind like he didn't matter at all.

"I'll get my revenge!" He shouted, chasing after his army.

"No, I'm actually sick of this." Claire grabbed his tail, stopping him from leaving. "You're done for."

"Wh-What are you doing?!" He yelled, trying to set himself free.

"Giving you what you deserve," she commented, putting him down.

"No… Stay away. I-I don't want to die!" His voice shivered in fear as the human inched closer.

"That's not my choice to make, not anymore. I'll bring you back to the village. They'll decide your fate," the human explained, perfectly knowing what they would say.

"You should go," Lan said, taking the ox's custody in her place. "I'll take care of him for now…"

"I'll see you later then," she nodded, sprinting as fast as possible to the village.


End file.
